Hungry Travelers - Page 4 of 82 - Bringing the tastes of travel back home

Delving into Revillon’s historic connections

Posted on December 20, 2023December 20, 2023 by Pat

New Orleans' Reveillon dinners are a link to the city's past. Tradition holds that during the mid-19th century, well-to-do families would feast on an elaborate meal after Mass on Christmas Eve and again on New Year's Eve. The practice had all but disappeared until the city's restaurants revived it with special Reveillon menus. The four-course meals range from $40 to $150, putting them in reach of many pocketbooks. I like a taste of history with my meal, so one afternoon, I visited the Gallier House museum (1132 Royal St., New Orleans, La.; 504-274-0748; hgghh.org) to see how a French Quarter family would have lived more than 150 years ago. The townhome with elaborate wrought iron balcony was designed by noted architect James Gallier, Jr. and...Read More

New Orleans feasts make merry at Christmas

Posted on December 18, 2023December 20, 2023 by Pat

Decorating a tree and baking cookies are fine Christmas traditions. But New Orleans has an especially festive — and tasty — tradition that I wish other communities would adopt. In this city where people's love of good food is exceeded only by their love of a good party, about 50 restaurants offer the chance for both. Starting after Thanksgiving and running through December, they create fixed-price four-course menus that are too good to resist. That was certainly the case for me and my friend Patti as we enjoyed a holiday reunion earlier this month. Click here for the full Reveillon list. Families, friends, and work colleagues fill many of the tables, but visitors are warmly welcomed. If you want to really fit in, wear something...Read More

Nathan’s is why hot dogs are called coneys

Posted on December 11, 2023December 8, 2023 by Pat and David

We swear there's a Nathan's hot dog cart on practically every street corner in Manhattan. And we've eaten our share of the ‶famous″ franks as peripatetic lunches. On a sunny day in late November, with the temperature predicted to rise into the 50s, we made the pilgrimage to Coney Island, where Nathan's (1310 Surf Avenue, Brooklyn; 718-333-2202; nathansfamous.com) all began. For once, we could sit down to eat. From midtown, it took nearly an hour to get to Coney Island on the F train, giving us an appreciation of the extent of the metropolitan subway system. Once we reached Brooklyn, the last stretch of the route rose onto tracks elevated above the rooftops. We knew we were getting close when we spotted the Wonder Wheel...Read More

NYC luncheonettes reprise a simpler time

Posted on December 6, 2023December 5, 2023 by Pat and David

Across Fifth Avenue from the Flatiron building, S&P Lunch (174 5th Ave., New York, NY; 212-691-8862; sandwich.place) hardly toots its own horn. A plaque in the window reads simply ‶A Great Place to Eat Since 1928.″ Judging by the crowds waiting for a seat at 11:15 on a Sunday morning, the modest luncheonette doesn't need any more publicity than that. We love old-fashioned luncheonettes. S&P is the real deal, boasting vinyl-clad stools along a long counter and a grill menu of eggs and sandwiches. We joined the queue that started just inside the door and ultimately scored our preferred seating. No booth in the back for us. We prefer the counter, preferably right in front of the grill. In deference to S&P traditions, we ordered...Read More

Vintage cookbooks speak to an engaged life

Posted on December 3, 2023December 3, 2023 by Pat and David

We're as guilty as the next kitchen maven. When we set out to make a new dish, we turn to Mama Google. Unless it's a traditional Italian dish. Then we ask Michele Scicolone. Or one of her 16 cookbooks — most likely 1,000 Italian Recipes. Our copy is sauce-stained from steady use, but we still browse through it. And imagine the flavors. We have our favorites for other cuisines as well — Charles Virion's French Country Cookbook, Penelope Casas' Foods & Wines of Spain, and so on. Our vinyl records long ago gave way to tapes which gave way to CDs which gave way to an mp4 player. The shelves we cleared of music are covered with cookbooks. They still sing a sweet siren song....Read More

At the source for true New York cheesecake

Posted on November 30, 2023November 24, 2023 by Pat and David

We grew up in the era of quickie “cheesecake” made with Philadelphia cream cheese, tons of sugar, and an egg. The mixture was deposited into a graham cracker crust and topped with canned pie filling. We both loved it. But we always knew that there was something else called “New York cheesecake” that was presumably more complex and therefore superior. When we spotted a location of Junior's amid the neon clutter surrounding Times Square, we thought we might have located the cheesecake grail. After all, Junior's holds a registered trademark on The World's Most Fabulous Cheesecake®. We soon learned that the restaurant chain has been making it since the original Junior's opened in Brooklyn in 1950. Times Square locations were merely Junior's-come-latelies. So we made...Read More

Industrial chic brings treats to eat at Chelsea Market

Posted on November 27, 2023November 23, 2023 by Pat and David

Despite the proliferation of food halls in New York, Chelsea Market (75 9th Avenue, New York NY; 212-243-6005; chelseamarket.com) remains one of the best. Its 1997 debut established the template that Essex Market copied a decade later. But Chelsea Market got one thing right that no other food hall has been able to replicate. It occupies the 1890s factory building where the National Biscuit Company (aka Nabisco) invented and manufactured the Oreo. Chelsea Market founder Irving Cohen didn't pretty up the industrial architecture. The result is a tunnel of brick walls and massive pipes. Journeying through the complex feels a little like navigating the landscape of a dark-themed video game to find a bunch of gem-filled rooms. The brawny, gritty style of the overall market...Read More

The ecstasy of pastrami at Katz’s Delicatessen

Posted on November 24, 2023November 21, 2023 by Pat and David

Established in 1888, Katz's Delicatessen was already a New York institution when it rocketed to international fame in the rom-com When Harry Met Sally. We probably don't even have to describe the scene where Meg Ryan, as Sally, fakes an orgasm at a table in the back of the deli. She was eating a roasted turkey sandwich. We can't imagine the volume of her pleasure had she ordered Katz's famous pastrami. We've learned that it's best to be flexible about eating hours if you want to avoid the biggest crowds at New York's iconic eateries. We stopped at Katz's early one morning and the guy at the door told us that we would be able to walk right in if we returned for lunch by...Read More

Russ & Daughters bagels are worth the wait

Posted on November 21, 2023November 19, 2023 by Pat and David

“I come in for the chaos,” joked the man standing next to us in the crowd at Russ & Daughters (179 East Houston St., New York, NY; 212-475-4880; russanddaughters.com). We came for the bagels. On this Saturday morning, the long, narrow shop with a display counter along one side was jammed with people. To be fair, the “chaos” was of the controlled variety. Customers were in an almost jovial, anticipatory mood. It felt like the ticket line at a rock concert. Clearly, part of shopping at Russ & Daughters is the cheek-by-jowl camaraderie. There is a method to the madness. You take a number from the ticket machine at the door, just like at the supermarket deli. Then you try to squeeze to the back...Read More

Essex Market charts NYC’s changing tastes

Posted on November 18, 2023November 18, 2023 by Pat and David

The oldest establishment in the New York municipal market system, Essex Market's latest re-invention arguably strikes the perfect balance between supermarket and food hall. The old Essex Street Market, created in the 1930s as the flagship of the city's public market system, became essentially obsolete in the 21st century. The latest transformation, which opened in 2019, nails changing tastes and approaches to food in New York. Essex Market (88 Essex St., New York, N.Y.; essexmarket.nyc), as it's now called, is as much a gathering space as a shopping destination. It's located in a fancy new complex with luxury condos and a movie theater. The basement level is technically a separate operation called the Market Line. As you enter Essex Market from Delancey Street, the Indian...Read More